Dr. BreAnne Danzi

Dr. Danzi is a licensed clinical psychologist, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Dakota, and the director of the CAST Lab. She is also a faculty member in the Disaster Mental Health Institute and the Center for Brain and Behavior Research at USD. 

Dr. Danzi received her undergraduate training in Psychology and English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed her graduate training at the University of Miami in Clinical Child Psychology. She did her clinical training at the University of California Los Angeles in the Stress, Trauma, and Resilience track in Clinical Child Psychology.

Her research interests broadly focus on the mental health of children and families, especially those impacted by stress and trauma. Her research focuses on understanding children’s responses to traumatic stress, improving the assessment of PTSD in children, and identifying biopsychosocial factors that contribute to risk and resilience trajectories following trauma exposure. Her work has primarily focused on community-wide trauma (e.g., natural disasters, terrorism), but she has also studied other forms of stress (e.g., peer victimization, life transitions). She is particularly interested in diagnostic issues in children, and much of her recent research has focused on improving the diagnostic criteria for PTSD to be more developmentally-sensitive to clinical presentations in trauma-exposed children. She has also conducted research on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth and families. 

Clinically, Dr. Danzi has experience with assessing and treating a variety of childhood psychological disorders, and particularly enjoys working with families. Her clinical interests include disruptive behavior problems, anxiety, PTSD, OCD, and parenting skills. She also has interests in the area of childhood maltreatment, and has experience with forensic assessment of maltreatment and working with foster/adoptive families. Dr. Danzi is a Clinical Supervisor in the USD Psychological Services Center and employs a range of child-focused interventions, including Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, the Unified Protocol, Prolonged Exposure, and Families OverComing Under Stress. 

Dr. Danzi is interested in teaching related to clinical psychology, children and families, trauma, and clinical supervision. She teaches Children and Trauma (PSYC 258), Abnormal Psychology (PSYC 451), Introduction to Psychology (PSYC 101), and leads a Vertical Clinical Team (PSYC 749) and Peer Supervision Practicum (PSYC 765). Dr. Danzi is particularly committed to training in professional development, promoting awareness of career paths in psychology, and supporting students in identifying and achieving their professional goals.